House of the DEAD
by BassThePony
Summary: With night fast approaching and tensions high as the group finds itself lost, Takashi makes the decision to find shelter, not knowing what it entails as they near the abandoned house. Soon, he will learn that some places should not be disturbed, for fear of what lies within. Rated 'T' for implied violence and blood.


[A/N]: I've had this story idea for a while, but didn't act on it because I felt it wouldn't turn out good at all; However, now my writing skills are better and I feel I can do it some justice. Please leave a review telling me how I did.

* * *

In the aftermath of the apocalypse and the rise of Them, few things remain important. Among them, food, shelter, and transport rank as vital to survival.

Nobody knew these truths better than Takashi Komuro and his band of survivors. After escaping Takagi Manor with their Humvee as Saya's parents made a stand, they found themselves lost in a section of the city none of them had previously visited. They passed house after house, many missing doors and windows where They had broken in to find a meal. To Takashi, none of them seemed viable for a shelter as night approached and they found themselves still lost in the twisting streets of the Tokonosu suburbs.

To add to his troubles, another fight had sprung up between Rei and Saya over what was the best course of action.

"I'm telling you, we need to find a high point and look for a way across the river and out of here!"

"And I'm telling you, baka, that it'll be too dark to see and a waste of time we could be using to rest and check our supplies!"

As they devolved into a shouting match and the rest of the survivors watched helplessly, Takashi'a emotions boiled over and he turned around in his seat, drowning out all the voices in the military vehicle with his impressive voice.

"ENOUGH! THAT IS ENOUGH FROM BOTH OF YOU!", Takashi roared, shocking everyone and sending Rei and Saya into terrified silence.

"Now,", Takashi said, rubbing his pounding head. "I've decided we're stopping for the night. Be quiet while I pick out a house or, so help me, I will make you sit on the top of the car while tied together!"

Both girls nodded in agreement and Takashi turned around, searching for a suitable house. After several moments of silent driving Takashi pointed to the right, directing Shizuka to stop the car.

"There. See? It has a small wall, and it looks abandoned. We can leave the Humvee in front of the gate and sleep without worrying about an intruder in the night."

Shizuka nodded and pulled over, allowing the teens to climb out, weapons at the ready. Turning to the others, Takashi decided he would go in alone, to both prevent any unnecessary danger to the others, and to clear his head.

"I've got this. Saeko, keep the others in check while I make sure it's safe for us.", he said, nodding to the purple-haired teen.

Saeko nodded in understanding as Takashi turned walking up to the front door and silently opening it, peering inside with his shotgun raised before entering.

* * *

Entering the darkened house, Takashi felt a shiver go up his spine as he looked around, the room seemingly glowing from a small candle above the mantle, it's dull flame barely illuminating the pictures of a smiling family near it, much less the large living room.

Takashi's eyes darted around the room, his nerves frayed as he watched for human shapes amongst the flickering shadows. He decided the living room was clear and looked to the right, finding a small hallway with stairs at the end.

'Shit.', he almost immediately thought, spotting a blood trail leading up the stairs and to somewhere on the second floor.

He was just about to turn and get some backup in case there were too many of Them, when he heard it.

A small raspy groan carried down from the second floor. It didn't sound like the rest of Them, though. It was... Different.

"Hello..?", Takashi called quietly, figuring it would simply moan again. What came next sent chills up his spine as the floor seemed to spin.

"H-Help... Me...", a small voice seemed to call, it's voice torturous and dry-sounding, as if it's vocal chords had yet to be used in a long time.

Against every wish in his body, Takashi moved down the hallway and towards the stairs, every hair on his body standing up with goosebumps as he slowly climbed the stairs, careful to not make noise. As he reached the top, a floorboard let out a long creak of protest, and Takashi silently cursed as the rasping groans turned into small, pitiful wails. He continued down the hallway, finding closed doors to his left and right, with one slightly ajar at the end of the hallway, the blood trail leading into it.

Stepping along the corridor, every step felt like a step closer to hell as the wailing seemed to increase to unimaginable levels as Takashi made it to the door.

Pushing the door to the side with his gun barrel, Takashi peered into the room...

... And screamed.

* * *

Outside, the silence of the night was broken by an inhumane scream, jolting the group of survivors out of their lazy guard positions and into fear. Saeko moved to run to the house but stopped as the roar of a shotgun blast shocked her into a stop. Only a few moments later, a dark form burst from the house and fell to the ground in front of them his gun sliding to a stop in front of her.

It was Takashi.

Looking closer, Saeko noticed blood soaking his jacket and splattered on his terrified face, which held a look similar to what she'd heard local veterans describe as the 'thousand-yard stare'. She quickly ran to him and knelt down grabbing his shoulders in an attempt to get his attention.

"Takashi, snap out of it! What happened? What's wrong?", she said, finally gaining his attention. He turned to her and, instead of answering her question, burst into tears, mumbling incoherently of children and shadows. The rest of the group shifted their grips on their guns as they seemingly reached a silent agreement to keep moving. After a few minutes of listening to Takashi's sobs mixing with the approaching groans of them, Saya spoke up.

"We have to leave. Kohta, help Saeko get Takashi in the car. Rei, grab his gun.", she ordered.

The group followed her commands without protest and soon they were moving away from the house, the hordes of Them approaching it with their usual shambling gait.

After a moment, Saya sighed, leaning back into hear seat and looking at the scared from of Alice before turning to look out the window at the moon.

Yes, this was the world they lived in. A world were the dead were endless, and the children knew not of sleep, alive or dead.


End file.
